"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future"........
John F. Kennedy

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Lisa Madigan proposes FOIA rewrite

Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office on Tuesday released a revised version of state’s Freedom of Information Act, hoping to strengthen a law that has been criticized as weak and full of loopholes.Advocates say Madigan’s proposed rewrite adds some much-needed teeth to the law, which is designed to open government records to public scrutiny. But critics say it’s too complicated and might create more problems than it solves.Both sides still have some concerns they want addressed.Cara Smith, Madigan’s deputy chief of staff, said the goal was to “dramatically cut down the potential for abuse.”One loophole the new law would close is an excuse sometimes used by public agencies that fail to respond to a FOIA request -- saying that releasing a document would be “unduly burdensome.”Under the rewrite, agencies would have five days, instead of the current seven, to respond to a FOIA request, with the possibility of a five-day extension. If the agency fails to respond, it would not be allowed to treat the request as burdensome.

"And this is the cause of my life -- new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American -- north, south, east, west, young, old -- will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege. "Ted Kennedy